So, the second half of this class is going to be dedicated to examining specific “knowledge institutions” and how they have historically developed in print culture, what changes the digital has brought, along with creative projects suggesting future directions. I have a few ideas but thought it might be useful to harness the network for other suggestions. Below is a list of the ‘xxx’ institutions I already thought of. The class can only have five groups but I want to list more than five possibilities do that students can pick the most popular.
- Libraries
- Museums
- Universities
- K-12 Education
- Art/Entertainment (maybe something specific)
- Representative Democracy
- Journalism
I realize this list isn’t entirely cohesive or transparent, but what I am trying to get at is institutions which are fundamental to the way we traffic in knowledge who are likely to have to undergo substantial change in the shift to a digital networked archive. (My idea would be for the “entertainment” group to focus on one thing, not music, but let them decide.)
So what am I missing? What should I add?
I wonder if there might be a place for Medicine or Hospitals (or related). I know that much of what is done in medicine happens in medicals schools (universities) but a significant amount of research and knowledge production happens in hospitals by doctors who are often not affiliated with a university.
I also wonder if there could be bullets for things like Advocacy Groups or Civil Organizations. That is, groups that are designed to encourage more open dissemination of information and are apart from the government. I’m thinking here organizations like Greenpeace, Rails to Trails, Politico, Planned Parenthood, to name a few on the liberal side of things.
There also might be one for Social Services–or maybe that falls under Representative Democracy? I’m a little vague on the latter term, but Social Services would be things like the DMV or the Welfare Office or something like that that provides a set of unique knowledge within a specific area.
Another might be Industry or Commerce or Corporations. These groups structure knowledge in many ways. Think Exxon and the fight against global warming or GM and the fight against seat belts or the tobacco industry and the fight against warning labels.
I’ll keep thinking of some more.
Please tweet the full assignment when its finished!
“Non profits” would be a good category, but a number of the ones already listed already fall under this category.